Sylvaine Delacourte mini-review

As a lover of beauty products, I tend to cycle through phases of being really into certain products. I’ve become really interested in fragrance during the past few months. Along with that, I’ve become more aware of all of the not-so-great ingredients in traditional popular fragrances.

While searching for a more clean and unique alternative to popular fragrances, I stumbled upon Sylvaine Delacourte.

This brand is clean, cruelty free, and made in France (per their Instagram bio). They currently have three different collections, a vanilla collection, musk, and orange blossom. Each collection contains five different fragrances. For $10 (and free shipping!) you can select a collection and sample the five scents.

I have sampled all three collections and have to say that overall, the orange blossom is my favorite. However, I did end up purchasing a full bottle of a scent from the vanilla collection, Valkyrie, and a scent from the orange blossom collection, Olyssia. In addition, during the holidays they had a promotion where you could get a free 30mL scent with the purchase of a full bottle. For that promotion, I chose a small bottle of Smeraldo, from the musk collection.

I love the sampling experience, the samples contain enough fragrance for you to try each out on your skin for a couple of days before making a decision! Each of the fragrances is unique from the others and from most conventional fragrances. Of the three I own, I tend to switch out Valkyrie and Olyssia as my daily scents. Valkyrie is a spicy, fresh vanilla that morphs into a sweeter smell for the last few hours. Olyssia, which is probably my favorite overall, is a beautiful orange blossom and jasmine scent that makes me feel uplifted and reminds me of cool spring breezes. Both scents have good longevity, I can still smell them at the end of the day before getting in the shower (about 10-12 hours after application). While the are long lasting, they both become more of a skin scent around hour 5.

Overall I am really loving this brand and am excited to try out other clean fragrances! It’s interesting to see the memories and feelings that different scents evoke and how they can be a pick me up throughout a long work day.

If you’ve tried Sylvaine Delacourte, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Review: KOSAS Blush Duo and 10-Second Eyeshadow

Hi guys!

It’s been a WHILE since I last posted because life got busy with work and traveling. I recently discovered KOSAS and picked up some of their blush/highlighter duos (because I’m a huge sucker for blush) and a few of the 10-second eyeshadows.

For the blush/highlight duos, they have a powder formula and a cream formula. I picked up the powder formula first in the shade “Contrachroma” which is a great bronzed blush color and champagne highlight. This one has for sure been my go-to for daily wear since I got it. Shortly after I picked up the powder formula, KOSAS introduced high-intensity versions of all of the existing shades. The high-intensity versions are created with double the pigment so better suit deeper skin tones (or to give an additional boost of color). I picked up the cream formula in “Velvet Melon High Intensity” which is a really pretty peachy-pink color with a gold highlighter. Both the cream and powder formulas are really easy to apply and blend and last all day! The cream formula does apply much more easily after it has warmed up on your hand.

In addition to these, I picked up the 10-Second Liquid Eyeshadow in “Globe” (a champagne), “Copper Halo” (a warm coppery rose gold), and “Element” (a warm chestnut). Copper Halo was much more copper than rose gold and looks very orange in the tube. However, when swatched or blended out on the eyes, it does look more copper/rose gold than orange. I found the other two shades to be accurately described. The formula for these eyeshadows is extremely liquid – you definitely need to shake to make sure all of the pigment is evenly dispersed. The formula, despite being so liquid, does not run and is very easy to blend out on the eyelid with your finger. It leaves a beautiful wash of color with a little shimmer. I’ve also been reaching for these daily because they are so convenient to use but also provide long lasting wear and a great wash of color. See below for swatches of all products mentioned!

(From left to right: Globe, Copper Halo, Element, blush duo in Velvet Melon High Intensity, Blush Duo in Contrachroma)

KOSAS is also a clean beauty brand, which is another great thing about the brand. Have you tried any KOSAS products that you love?

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Review: CoverFX Monochromatic Blush Duo

CoverFX released a line of Monochromatic blush duos and I immediately purchased one. The blush duos come in six shades and each product contains two pans of blush – one matte side and one shimmer side. These blushes retail at $38. While the price is more expensive than most blushes on the market, the price reflects the amount of product you get.

I bought the Monochromatic blush duo in the shade Warm Honey which is described as a “bronzed rose”. For me, this is a beautiful neutral warm blush that gives me a healthy glow. It’s quickly become one of my favorites! The matte side is a bit more pigmented than the “shimmer” (for lack of better description) side. I like to mix the two together to get the pigmentation but also have a nice natural glow/sheen on my cheeks.

As pictured, both colors swatch beautifully and are easy to blend and build up. I definitely recommend this – I’ve been wearing it every day!

If you’ve tried this or some of the other shades, I’d love to know your thoughts!

Review: Bare Minerals Clean Glow Collection

Hey guys!

With summer just around the corner, bareMinerals released their clean glow collection. This collection includes both powder and liquid highlights and bronzers. I picked up the highlight in the shade Free and the bronzer in the shade Faux Tan – both in the powder formula.

Free is a champagne color that wears beautifully on the skin. This highlighter does a great job of giving a natural, summery glow without any chunky glitter.

Faux Tan is a matte bronzer with no shimmer that blends really well for a natural bronzed look!

See below for swatches and how the products look on my face!

Overall, I love both of these products and have worked them into my daily routine. If you’ve tried out any of the clean glow collection, let me know your thoughts!

Clean Beauty Favorites

Hey guys!

Lately I’ve been trying to switch to more clean beauty products. Obviously, using less chemicals on a daily basis is appealing, and recently it seems like clean beauty brands have really been expanding their products and shades. This post is just going to be touching on some of my favorite clean beauty brands/products and why I think they’re awesome. If you are interesting in learning more about any of the products or brands mentioned, feel free to leave a comment and I would be more than happy to do a more in-depth review!

Some of my favorite clean beauty brands include BareMinerals, Beautycounter, Pixi, RMS Beauty, and Thrive Causemetics. All of these brands create products that perform beautifully and have a variety of products available. Many of the products pictured above are ones that I reach for on a daily basis. I’ll provide a brief description of each product below and why I love it.

Thrive Causemetics

• Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara: I wanted to touch on this one first because it is my favorite mascara of all time. This mascara works great at elongating my lashes and helping to create volume. My only gripe with this product is that it can flake. This is also a tubing mascara, so it is very easy to remove at the end of the day with no smudging. What makes all of this even better is the lack of harmful chemicals, which I really appreciate as a contact-lens wearer – I find this mascara to be less irritating over time and have noticed that I get styes (this is a real problem with me for some reason) much less frequently since switching to this mascara. I definitely recommend it!
• Cosmo Power Multi-Dimensional Strobing Blush: This is a fairly new product in my collection, but is one that I am so glad I purchased! I have this blush in the shade Angelina which is described as a “golden brick shimmer”. This blush is gorgeous and super pigmented. It is not as shimmery as I expected, but the subtle shimmer keeps the blush from being a flat matte. This blush will probably last me forever – a little goes a long way!
• Headliner Lipstick: I have this in the shade Bizzy, which is a rose color. This is a highly pigmented formula that is also long lasting! This isn’t my favorite lipstick just because I find it to be a bit drying. I tend to prefer sheer moisturizing lipsticks or glosses. However, the color is gorgeous and the payoff is amazing!

Beautycounter

• Sheer lipstick: This is probably the best lipstick I have ever used! I have three colors: Lily (a luminous neutral pink), Rose (a sheer rose shimmer), and Orchid (a deeper red berry). This lipstick is extremely moisturizing and sheer, but can be built up for a more opaque finish. Despite it being a creamy and moisturizing formula, the color is long lasting and even after it has worn off, I am left with a nice tint. Extra points for smelling like vanilla!
• Matte Setting Powder: This is a great powder that keeps my oily areas in control all day. It is a white powder, but appears translucent on the skin. I apply this to my oily areas with a beauty sponge, and it helps my makeup to last longer while keeping the oil at bay. This is one of my favorite setting powders!

Pixi Beauty

• Rose Flash Balm: This is one of my new favorites. This is a thick but non greasy moisturizer that is meant to boost tired skin. I love the way this product makes my skin look! It can also be used as a primer. I have used it before foundation for a few weeks now, and have noticed that the products apply more evenly and last. The great rose scent is a plus!
• Makeup Fixing Mist: This is the makeup fixing mist with Rosewater and Green Tea. While this does extend the wear of my makeup, it doesn’t make it last as long as my Mac Prep and Prime. Regardless, this is a great product for every day use! It also feels very refreshing on the skin with a pleasant and not overpowering smell.

RMS Beauty

• Luminizing Powder: This product was released fairly recently (to my knowledge!). I picked up the shade Midnight Hour which is a rose gold. This product is a good alternative to the RMS cream luminizers for those with oily skin – I loved the finish of those but they broke out my skin. This luminizer is a powder that provides a very natural glow and is great for every day use when a blinding highlight might not be part of your look. I love the healthy glow and sheen this product gives me!

BareMiners

• Invisible Bronzer: I have this bronzer in the shade Medium. I find this bronzer to be more sheer with a subtle sheen. It comes in four shades and has a really nice, natural finish for a boost of color!
• BareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer: This is a great full-coverage concealer with a beautiful finish. It is creamy and easy to blend. My only issue with this concealer is that it does not seem to be as long lasting as my other concealers – I usually notice areas with darker pigmentation showing through by the end of the day. Otherwise, this is a beautiful product!

Hope you enjoyed this post! What are some of your clean beauty favorites?

Playing with Glossier: Glossier Play Impressions

Hey guys!

When Glossier Play was first announced, I was honestly a bit skeptical. Glossier’s brand previously was based on a more natural, dewy look, and as a fan of that type of look, I was unsure whether Glossier Play was quite up my alley. After doing some research on the products, I decided to try out the Colorslide, Nightshine highlighter, and the Vinylic Lip. The one product I didn’t pick was up the Glitter Gelee as I couldn’t quite see myself getting much use out of that product.

Let’s go through each of the products I’ve tried from Glossier Play and I’ll give my thoughts on each! I’ll include a photo of all of the product swatches below my thoughts!

Vinylic Lip: this product is described as a high-shine lacquer and comes in six different shades. I purchased this product in the shades Pony, Blow-Up, and Disco. Pony is a warm taupe and easily my favorite of the three, Blow-Up is a bubblegum pink, and Disco is a terra-cotta red shade. Based on the description, I definitely expected these to have a glossier finish. While the finish is glossy, it’s not as high shine as expected. The applicator makes this product very easy to apply as a sheer wash of color, or to build up to be a shinier, richer color.

Colorslide: this product is described as a waterproof, highly pigmented, gel eyeliner and comes in 14 different shades. The color selection is extremely varied, there are a ton of unique shades but also ones that can be used for every day looks as well. I have the shades Pretty Penny, Brack, and Candyland. Pretty Penny is a shimmery copper, Brack is a brown-black, and Candyland is a shimmery peach-pink. Each of these colors glides on smoothly with no tugging and have great staying power. They are a bit hard to remove at the end of the day, especially Brack. The colors are all highly pigmented.

Nightshine highlighter: This product was the one that I was most excited about trying! It is a liquid highlighter that comes in four different shades. I chose to get the shades Platinum Rose and Deep Copper. Both of the shades are really beautiful and as many Glossier products, can be blended out for a sheer glow or built up for a more intense highlight. I really love these for a more natural, dewy glow – neither of these shades contains glitter which I love. They have a similar natural highlight finish to the Glossier Haloscope. However, if you have oily/breakout prone skin like me, these are a better choice as they are less thick and greasy than the Haloscope. The packaging for these is also adorable – I love the small glass bottle and the applicator makes it really easy to dot on the cheeks and then blend out for a subtle glow.

Swatches in order from left to right: Vinylic Lip in Disco, Blow-Up, and Pony. Nightshine in Platinum Rose and Deep Copper. Colorslide in Pretty Penny, Brack, and Candyland.

Overall impressions: I actually love all of these products a lot more than I anticipated. I love the versatility of each product. It’s great that they have products in their range that can be used for a work look, but that the products can all also be built up and used for a more fun and unique look. My only real gripe with the products is the packaging (pictured below) while the foil pouch is cute and adds to the aesthetic, it seems a bit excessive and wasteful to me. I definitely think they could either just go with the box or the pouch – especially considering that they send those great pink pouches with every order!

If you’ve tried out any of the Glossier Play line, I would love to hear your thoughts!

😊

New Milani Baked Blush Review and Swatches

Hey guys!

About two months ago, Milani released two new shades of their bestselling baked blush. I was especially excited about this as blush is definitely one of my favorite beauty products during the winter – the pop of color always gives a nice, healthy glow which helps me to look like I’ve actually been outside and in the sun. Milani baked blushes are also hands down my favorite drugstore blush. The colors are “Sunset Passione” and “Petal Primavera”, and they are both absolutely gorgeous. Sunset Passione is described as a deep coral rose, and Petal Primavera is described as a subtle bronze rose pink.

Sunset Passione definitely is the warmer of the two, and would be a really great summer shade. As all of the other baked blushes, both of these shades are very pigmented and swatched beautifully. They apply well and can be easily built up for a more vibrant look or diffused for a more natural look. One of my favorite things about the baked blushes is the sheen they all have – a perfect, subtle amount of shimmer. This definitely adds an additional natural glow to the cheeks which is nice for days when I don’t want to use a highlight. Both of these shades have definitely made it into the products I reach for the most! I’ve enjoyed using them on their own or on top of a Glossier cloud paint to add a bit more of a sheen. Overall, if you’ve been a fan of Milani’s baked blushes in the past, these are a great addition that I definitely recommend.

If you’ve tried these out, leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!

Lancôme Le Monochromatique Swatches and Review

Hey guys! 🙂 Welcome to my first attempt at a makeup review.

Lancôme (somewhat? I’m probably behind on this) recently released “Le Monochromatique”. If I wasn’t entirely sold on the product immediately, I was 100% sold on this product after seeing the amazing Lupita Nyong’o wearing it. This cream to powder product is designed to be used on eyes, lips, and cheeks. This product comes in ten shades and retails for $25. I picked up the shades “French Affair” which is a bright, warm, red-coral shade and the shade “Éclat” which is a shimmery champagne shade. The packaging is very simple, and the product itself features a cute lil rose in the center, which I love.

Both shades have a very soft and creamy texture, but do dry down to more of a powder. They’re both very pigmented and easy to blend.

One thing to note is that after trying to remove the swatches, I still had a bit of coral stain that stayed on my arm for the rest of the day.

I used the shade “French Affair” as my blush shade, and “Éclat” for my highlight. Although this is a multi-use product, I purchased them mainly to use as cheek products. Both were easy to blend with brushes and wore well throughout the day. See below to see how they wore on my face (if you want – excuse my shininess).

So far, loving how both of these colors blend and look on the skin. They are both super versatile and can both be blended out for a more natural look, but can also be built up.

If you’ve tried these (or other colors) let me know what your impressions are!

Other products used on my face:

Skin: Dr. Brandt Pores no more, Thrive Cosmetics CC cream, Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define, Beautycounter Matte setting powder

Eyes: Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tisse Vendome, Lancôme “Éclat” in the corners of my eyes, Thrive Cosmetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara

Lips: Thrive Cosmetics Headliner Lipstick in “Bizzy”